Selection of master developer questionable

Amaravati: Former chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao alleged that the G.O 179 issued by state government awarding the Singapore Consortium Ascendas –Singbridge and Sembcorp the work for Start-up area in the seed capital area of Amaravati as Master Developer was not in public interest. He said the process of selection of Master Developer was compromised and manipulated.

Highlights:

• The former bureaucrat, IYR Krishna Rao shoots off a 19-page letter to the CM detailing all the irregularities
• Says no transparent process was gone through while forming technical committee for finalising tender documents
• Alleges that the government facilitated the Singapore firms to enter through a backdoor under the guise of Swiss Challenge

In his 19- page letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday, Krishna Rao said the proposal submitted by the Ascendas Sembcorp was against the definition of the Swiss Challenge Method as defined under the APIDE Act and the government facilitated the Singapore firms to enter through a backdoor entry under the guise of Swiss Challenge.

He alleged that the state government shared valuable information with Singapore Government and through them to Singapore consortium. “When they are privy to such information and made it the basis for submitting their proposal, the question of giving unsolicited or Suo Moto proposal for development of the start-up area may not arise. Whole process is fundamentally vitiated” he said.

He also said that in the bidding process for the Start Up area, there was no competitive bidding and the bid was opened, finalised the tender in favour of the Singapore companies in a hurried manner. He also alleged that the government did not follow a process of due diligence on checking the credentials of Singapore consortium. “Some representatives of Singapore Consortium were accused of paying bribes to win contracts in some countries and caught in scandals” he said.

He also said no transparent process was gone through while forming technical committee which was formed for finalising tender documents and recommendations of advisor to the Project Mckinsey and Co, who suggested that tendering process be adopted for inviting counter challenge proposal was ignored.

He said even after amendments to APIDE Act due to court observations, the amended act may not stand scrutiny of law since the government manipulated the whole tendering process so that Singapore consortium alone was picked up.
Krishna Rao said only after the competent authority made sure there was nobody in the fray to challenge the bid of the Original Project Proponent (OPP- Singapore consortium), the bid was opened.

“Though government was not finding it attractive enough, a stage-managed show of increasing the bid by the OPP and the High-Power Committee recommending it and then taking it to the Cabinet for approval was done” he alleged.
As could be seen from the G.O. the OPP has given 12% in Phase-III, nowhere the OPP has committed to pay a certain minimum to the Government, he observed.